Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for cooking food, specifically fish and vegetables, in an automated household oven using steam.
Description of the Related Art
The benefits of cooking food, including fish and vegetables, with steam are widely recognized and include accelerating the cooking process, moisturizing the food during the cooking process, and preserving flavor, vitamins, and nutrients. Additionally, cooking with steam results in a more homogeneously cooked food item having an appearance that appeals to the senses. Over the years, cooks have developed various kinds of home remedies, such as inserting a bath of water and/or ice cubes into the cooking cavity, for providing steam into the cooking cavity. For convenience and to eliminate problems with consistency and timing of steam introduction associated with these home remedies, some contemporary household ovens incorporate an automated steam generating system that introduces steam into the cooking cavity of the oven. It would be helpful to the user for ovens to include automated programs dedicated to particular types of foods to ensure that appropriate amounts of steam are introduced into the cooking cavity at appropriate times during the cooking cycle so that the food is properly cooked and that the benefits of cooking with steam are fully realized.